Turkey, Safe Harbor, Franco-German Speech: EU Week Ahead Oct. 5 – 11

By

WSJ Brussels Bureau

Oct 4, 2015 6:45 am ET

This week promises to be another eventful one, taking European Union watchers from Brussels to Luxembourg and Strasbourg. The focus is once again on finding ways to manage the arrivals of thousands of refugees streaming into the bloc, but there’s also an important judgment on data-protection rules.

1) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes to Brussels on Monday for meetings with the EU’s top three officials – European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. The EU wants Mr. Erdogan’s help for dealing with refugee crisis, since the majority of the migrants that have arrived in the bloc this year have come via Turkey. But the room for maneuver is limited, as Mr. Erdogan is in campaigning mode ahead of Nov. 1 elections and several European governments are reluctant about making too many concessions. Turkey will also be starring at a meeting of foreign affairs and interior ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday, again revolving about how to stem the refugee influx and help countries in Syria’s neighborhood – Lebanon and Jordan are also invited – who have taken in most Syrian refugees so far.